


Together Again

by telperion_15



Series: Together [2]
Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: Angst, Established Relationship, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-05-26
Updated: 2010-05-26
Packaged: 2017-10-09 17:46:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,166
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/89965
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/telperion_15/pseuds/telperion_15
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sometimes you have to fight for what you want.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Together Again

**Author's Note:**

> Written for mcsmooch on LiveJournal.
> 
> Spoilers for 'Rising' and 'Critical Mass'.

“John? Can I talk to you for a moment?”

John sighed. He really needed to find a new favourite balcony. Everyone knew about this one, and therefore that made a crap place to hide.

“Sure, Elizabeth, what can I do for you?”

“It’s about Caldwell. And Rodney.”

_Oh shit._

“There’s no way this isn’t about what I think it’s about, is there?”

Elizabeth shook her head. “No.”

“Look, I’ve already spoken to Rodney and sorted it out. Don’t worry, Caldwell’s got no reason to try and ship me off back to the SGC any more.”

“I wish you’d spoken to me about it first, John.”

“Well, Caldwell made it pretty clear time was of the essence…”

“Because then I could have told you that Colonel Caldwell has no reason to ship you back to the SGC _in any case_.”

“I…what?”

“Did you really think I’d just let him do that, John? Just let him take away the finest military commander this expedition is ever likely to have because of something so…so unimportant?”

Some part of John was blushing at Elizabeth’s extravagant compliment, but all he said was, “I don’t think it’s unimportant.”

“You know what I mean.”

“Anyway, I didn’t think Caldwell was the type to change his mind just because someone disagrees with his opinion.”

“Well, no,” Elizabeth admitted. “But I did point out to him that if he tried it, he’d have one hell of a fight on his hands. No one can deny everything you’ve done for this expedition, and for the Pegasus galaxy as a whole.”

“What, like waking the Wraith up early and getting a whole bunch of people killed and culled as a result?” John said sourly.

“Like putting your life on the line every day to save those people,” Elizabeth corrected him sharply. “And your own people on Atlantis as well. I think those kind of actions stack up fairly well against the military’s ridiculous regulations, don’t you?”

“I suppose…”

“And besides,” Elizabeth continued, smiling sweetly, “I also reminded Caldwell that if the generals back on Earth could find it their hearts to give him his command back after he’d had a Goa’uld in his head, then it should be easy for him to overlook his personal prejudices in this case and forget that he ever knew anything about this.”

“Oh. And he bought that?”

“He came around to my way of thinking, yes,” said Elizabeth. “We don’t give up our own without a fight, John,” she continued gently. “You of all people should know that.”

“Yes, well, I seem to have developed a slight case of amnesia on that subject today…”

“Ah, speaking of which, there’s someone else here who would like to speak to you as well.”

For one crazy moment, John thought she’d brought Caldwell with her, and _there_ was a conversation he really didn’t want to have. In fact, if he never saw the guy again it would be too soon.

But then the door slid open to reveal Rodney. A Rodney who looked _extremely_ pissed off.

_Uh oh._

Suddenly a conversation with Caldwell was looking rather more appealing.

“Well, I’ll just leave you two to it then, shall I?” said Elizabeth cheerfully. She flashed John a beaming smile, and then brushed past Rodney as she went back inside, patting him on the shoulder in passing.

John swallowed. Rodney was glaring daggers at him, and right now throwing himself off the balcony seemed like a pretty attractive prospect. “Rodney, I…”

“I don’t like you very much right now,” Rodney interrupted, stepping forward on to the balcony and allowing the door to swish shut behind him. “In fact, I don’t think ‘hate’ would be too strong a word for what I’m feeling at the moment.”

“Look, I’m sorry, Rodney.” John scrubbed a hand over his face. “I honestly thought I was doing the right thing. For both of us.”

“The right thing? _The right thing_?” Rodney was almost yelling. “Well, let me tell you, _Colonel_ – you don’t get to make those kinds of decisions for me.”

“Yeah, well, Caldwell _does_,” John snapped.

“I told you I’d come with you back to Earth, didn’t I?”

“Oh, get real, Rodney. Your career means more than anything to you. You’d never want to leave Atlantis.”

For a moment Rodney looked like he was about to explode. Then, abruptly, he deflated. “Yes, okay, my career _does_ mean a lot to me,” he admitted. “That doesn’t mean I wouldn’t have given it up for you, though,” he added, in a quiet voice.

The fact that Rodney would do that for him made John’s heart squeeze painfully. But he couldn’t help saying, “And inside a week you’d be regretting that you’d ever done that. I _know_ you, Rodney. You’d go nuts without Atlantis, or the Stargates, or something like that to play with. If you’d come with me, that part of your career would have been over, and although you mean it _now_ when you say you’d be happy to give it up, that wouldn’t have lasted. Pretty soon you would have started to resent me for making you do it, and then we would have fallen apart anyway.”

He took a deep breath. That was a pretty long speech for him when it came to subject of relationships and feelings, and he could tell from the expression on Rodney’s face that Rodney was just as surprised by it as he was.

Then, “You stupid, stupid _idiot_,” Rodney said. He crossed the balcony in four strides, grabbed John by the arms, and dragged him in for a rough, clumsy, hard kiss. “Don’t you get it?” he asked, pushing John away again just as quickly. “I mean, I realised you were oblivious, but even I didn’t think you were this bad…”

“Rodney…”

“I love you, you moron,” Rodney snapped. He pointed a finger at John. “Although don’t get used to hearing that, because I’m certainly not going to start saying it every five minutes.”

“Oh…”

Yes, ‘oh’. And that means that, compared to you, my career means precisely nothing. Zip. Zero. Zilch. So don’t ever try to tell me again that I shouldn’t give it up for you, you hear me?”

“Yes, Rodney,” replied John meekly.

“Good. Now come here.”

John found himself pulled back into another kiss, this one softer and more considered, but no less intense and meaningful for all that. John made a happy sound in his throat – Hurricane Rodney appeared to be blowing itself out, and he felt like it was safe to slide his arms around Rodney’s waist and pull him as close as he could.

“Don’t think this means I’ve stopped hating you, mind,” Rodney grumbled against his lips. “You got a long way to go before I actually forgive you for doing that to me.”

John tightened his grip a little more, noting that Rodney didn’t seem to be protesting the kissing or the closeness, despite his professed hatred. “Yes, Rodney,” he said again.


End file.
